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Are Arsenal set to be the latest team to lose out to Monaco?

The big spending Ligue 1 side have targeted wonderkid Serge Aurier, who has been linked with a move to Arsenal as a replacement for Bacary Sagna.

With most of England’s top clubs are busy trying to put in a place a new manager for the summer, they might find that by the time they are in place, the biggest deals of the window have already been done.

Monaco are taking no prisoners as they look to rebuild their team to challenge in Ligue 1, having been promoted from the French second division this season, and Arsenal could be the latest side to miss out on a target because of Claudio Ranieri’s team.

Joao Moutinho and James Rodriguez are set to move to Monaco in an outrageous £60million double swoop, and rumours persist that Radamel Falcao will follow the Porto pair for £50million.

All three players have been high profile targets for English sides in the past, with Tottenham Hotspur close to signing Moutinho last summer, and Chelsea still hoping they might be able to tempt Falcao to Stamford Bridge. But Monaco’s extra purchasing power has given them the edge even over the biggest English sides.

Arsenal could be set to lock horns with them over a far lower profile player, with 20 year old right back Serge Aurier hardly on the same level as a Falcao, but that will not be much comfort if they are outbid by Monaco.

Aurier has enjoyed an excellent season with Toulouse in Ligue 1, and has said that he hopes to stay at the club unless something crazy happens. Arsenal would have hoped that a move to North London might have qualified in that bracket, but it is more likely now that something crazy will involve a big transfer fee and inflated wages from Monaco.

There is some doubt over Monaco’s financial future, with the French league keen to see them abide by France’s tax laws or pay a substantial fee to join the top division to limit their advantage over other sides. However so far this does not seem to have dampened Monaco’s enthusiasm in the transfer market, and it seems there is now another major rival to English clubs’ ambitions this summer.

Nick Harris

I'm Nick Harris, Spurs fan and sports writer. Alongside HITC, I'm the founder, editor, writer, and fan of footballspirals.com and can be found on Twitter - @nicksharris. When I'm not watching sport I'm usually drinking coffee and checking updates on my phone in an antisocial manner.